1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to vending machines, and more particularly, to a miniature, battery operated, microprocessor controlled vending machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various dispensing devices which include rotating carousels containing stacks of products to be dispensed have been developed in recent years. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,825 issued to Weitzman discloses a vending machine including aselector handle for manually rotating a compartmental member or carousel through a gear network for selection of a particular product, and a rotary handle for manually dispensing product from a particular column.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,422, issued to Springer (the "Springer patent"), discloses a dispenser for dispensing pill packages in a predetermined sequential order. Specifically, the Springer patent discloses a manual handle which dispenses pills by engaging a pill cup through engagement members. A timed and motorized unit rotates the carousel through each of its columns and allows a user to dispense pills from each carousel column depending upon the time of day. Finally, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,179,289, 3,410,385, and 364,028 also disclose vending machines including manually operated carousels and manually operated dispensing mechanisms.
There are several disadvantages associated with prior art carousel-type dispensing devices. First, many rotary carousel dispensing devices require manual operation. Depending upon the vending machine size, those who have little hand strength find it difficult to operate such vending machines. Consumers and vending machine operators generally desire electronically actuated machines over manually operated machines since electronic machines usually accept a wide variety of coins and paper currency, electronic machines have a more modern appearance, and electronic machines utilize easy-to-operate selection buttons. However, electronic vending machines usually require a standard electrical outlet for power to operate dispensing mechanisms and currency recognition devices. This power requirement limits the locations in which they may be placed, and therefore limits the market share of such machines.